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Off-duty cop faces charges for role a deadly two-car crash in Brooklyn

traffic safety
Police are investigating the crash in which killed Joanna Dixon and another young woman. (Photo by Todd Maisel)

Police are holding a 47-year-old officer for possible charges in a deadly Brooklyn crash that killed a woman, and injured another early Sunday morning, police said.

Detectives are also looking for the hit-and-run driver of a second vehicle involved in the wreck, law enforcement sources said.

One woman was killed and another seriously injured when the driver of their car, a 2012 Mazda MZ6,  allegedly ran a stop sign at the corner of East 55th Street and Foster Avenue in East Flatbush at around 4:56 a.m. on Dec. 8.

Law enforcement sources said the vehicle was then was struck by another car, a 2019 Nissan Sedan, driven by the off-duty cop, causing it to spin out and smash into a telephone pole.

The Mazda driver fled the scene, but the 47-year-old driver of the Nissan Sedan — identified by sources as a member of the NYPD Counterterrorism Unit — was taken into custody, with charges pending, officers from the 63rd Precinct said.

A 23-year-old woman riding in the Mazda died at Brookdale University Hospital from the injuries she suffered in the crash. A second woman in the vehicle, 22, is in critical condition at Kings County Medical Center, police said.

According to authorities, the Mazda driver blew the stop sign while attempting to turn left onto Foster Avenue at East 55th Street. The Nissan, heading eastbound on Foster Avenue, struck the Mazda despite the driver’s attempts to stop; he left about 20 feet of black skid-marks on the pavement.

Upon impact, cops said, the Mazda spun around, crossed over the westbound lanes of Foster Avenue, then hit a telephone pole on the sidewalk in front of a Verizon workshop.

Police said the Mazda driver opened his door and fled the scene — leaving his female passengers behind.

The NYPD withheld the identity of the victims, pending family notification.

Officers believe speed may have played a role in the severity of the crash. The Nissan had a custom license plate from NASCAR with the word “BEEF” emblazoned on it.

Charges against the off-duty cop in the crash are pending the results of the ongoing investigation, sources said.

Police investigated the scene of a fatal crash in which one of the drivers fled the scene in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. This car was driven by an off-duty police officer. (Photo by Todd Maisel)